Rate Your Mate

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Rate Your Mate is a 30-minute old-time radio quiz program that was broadcast on CBS from July 30, 1950, until February 27, 1950, and from July 7, 1951, to July 18, 1951. [1] The trade publication Billboard reported that the program was one of "only two CBS packages [that] really clicked" in the summer of 1950. [2]

Contents

Joey Adams, in his radio debut, [3] was the host of the program, which featured competition between married couples. With one person in a soundproof booth, his or her spouse had to predict whether the isolated contestant could answer a particular question. [4] Each couple dealt with four questions worth $25 each. [5] Winning the money depended not on whether the isolated person answered the question correctly but whether the spouse accurately predicted whether the answer would be correct. [6]

The show initially was a summer replacement for Arthur Godfrey Digest from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturdays. [7] On July 30, 1950, it was moved to Sundays at 9 p.m. E.T. [8]

Production

Rate Your Mate was created by Peter Arnell. [9] Mark Goodson and Bill Todman were the producers, and Goodson directed the show. Norman Barasch and Carol Moore were the writers. [10] Hal Simms was the announcer. [4]

Critical response

A review in the Chicago Tribune compared Rate Your Mate to You Bet Your Life . It said that formats of the programs were "identical except for inconsequential gimmicks," and that Adams essentially imitated the voice of Groucho Marx, host of You Bet Your Life. [6] It added, however, that Adams could not match Marx with regard to ad-libs. [6]

Walter Ames, writing in the Los Angeles Times , called Rate Your Mate "one of radio's funniest shows". [11] Ames questioned why no company sponsored the program, and he suggested that the show had trouble gaining an audience "because it is always being shifted on the time schedule". [11]

A review in the trade publication Variety said that Rate Your Mate had "a thin format with obvious defects", one of which was that a couple could win if the spouses agreed beforehand that the one in the soundproof booth would answer each question incorrectly. [10] The review noted similarities between Adams and Marx and said that after Adams became acclimated to performing on radio, "he'll make his imprint as a quizmaster." [10]

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References

  1. ↑ Dunning, John (May 7, 1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. p. 567. ISBN   978-0-19-984045-8 . Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  2. ↑ "NBC Summer Pkgs. Top CBS". Billboard. September 23, 1950. p. 5. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  3. ↑ "'Rate Your Mate' On CBS Tonight". The Tampa Times. July 8, 1950. p. 8. Retrieved September 2, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 Terrace, Vincent (September 2, 2015). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland. p. 281. ISBN   978-1-4766-0528-9 . Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  5. ↑ Goddard, Bob (September 9, 1950). "Dial-Side Seat". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. p. 9. Retrieved September 2, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 Remenih, Anton (February 9, 1951). "Groucho Marx finds a rival, even imitator". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. Part 2 - Page 14. Retrieved September 2, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Lohman, Sidney (May 14, 1950). "News of TV and Radio: Cabinet Meeting Will Be Televised by C.B.S." . The New York Times. p. 119. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Today's Radio Highlights". The Roanoke Times. July 30, 1950. p. 18. Retrieved September 2, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "News By Classes". The Michigan Alumnus. October 21, 1950. p. 64. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 "Rate Your Mate". Variety. July 5, 1950. p. 29. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  11. 1 2 Ames, Walter (July 7, 1951). "Rate Your Mate on Saturday Radio Schedule; Comic Says Video Must Be Fast-Moving". Los Angeles Times. p. 15. Retrieved September 2, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
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